Washington (CNN) -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney was released from a Virginia hospital Monday following surgery last month to implant a small pump in his heart, according to a statement from his office.

The surgery at the Inova Fairfax Heart and Vascular Institute was announced on July 14.

Cheney has a history of heart problems, including five heart attacks, and the procedure he underwent is used in severe cases that require a mechanical pump to keep the circulation going, said Dr. Tim Gardner, former president of the American Heart Association. Gardner was not involved in Cheney's treatment.

Cheney suffered his first heart attack in 1978 at age 37. He also suffered heart attacks in 1984 and 1988, and underwent a quadruple bypass surgery to unblock his arteries.

Shortly after Cheney was elected vice president in November 2000, he had a fourth heart attack and received a stent to open an artery. In February, Cheney suffered his fifth heart attack.